Process of shoemaking



arch.19,146 A. E; MURRAY 2,396,926

PROCESS OF SHOEMAKING Filed June 25, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheefl INVENTOR ATI'ORNEY arch 19, 1946. A. E. MURRAY PRCCESS OF SHOEMAKING Filed June 25, 1942 4 Shets-SheetZ iNVEIZETQ-ZRW v v B. r

' ATTORNEY March 19, 19%. A. E. MURRAY 2,396,926

PROCESS OF SHOEMAKING Filed June 25, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Alan E. Marin March 19, 1946. v MURRAY I 2,396,926

PROCESS OF SHOEMAKING F iled June 25, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4' INVENTUR Alan E. Mzzz'ray ATTORNEY 5 Patented Mar. 19, 1946 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE PROCESS OF 'SHOEMAKING Alan E. Murray, Wilmington, Del;

Application June25, 1942, Serial No..448,474

9 Claims. (01. 12-44211 My invention relates particularly to a process of making shoes adapted to. give efiective support to the feet.

The object of my invention is to providea process of shoe making sov as. tov produce shoesgiving correct support to the feet,.whereby avery great saving of labor is attained and by-means of which shoes. of. thischaracter may be produced which are lightin. weight. A further objectisto produce shoeswhichnot only conform to. the natural contours. of the. feet but which incorporate: into the shoes the dynamic. shape taken by the feet whenin action. Still another object is to provide a process in which the portion of the shoewhinh supports the foot. is given the dynamic shape of the foot when in: action and in which the shoe is built around the portion of the shoe thus. preformed. for supporting the foot. Another object is to build ashoe in. thismanner on the. foot. of the wearer, no last thus. being needed. Further objects of my invention will. appearfrom. the detailed description of thesame hereinafter.

While my. invention is capable. of being carried out in many different. ways. for the purpose of illustration 1 have shown only certain ways of carrying out my invention. in the accompanying drawings, in which- Rig. 1 is a view. of a sheet of paper on which the original. outline of the foot'istaken;

Fig; 2isaninverted cross-section of thefootsupporting pad before being filled with powder;

Fig.8 is an, underneath view of a portion ofv the pad. at." one step in its manufacture;

Fig; 4- is an inverted. cross-section of a modifiedaformof pad shown in the course of its manufacture; I

Fig. 5.is a side elevation of the foot showing a part of theshoe applied to the foot in: the course ofmanufacture;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the partially completedshoe with the fabricpartly broken away Fig. 7 is aplan .view of the completed shoe;

Fig. 81is a side elevation of the completed shoe;

Eig..9 is'a frontviewof the completed shoe;

Fig..1 is'a side elevation, partly in section, of aimodified form of shoe madein accordancewith my'invention; c

Fig; 1-1 is a plan view of another modified form of shoe made in accordance with my invention; and

Fig; 121s a cross-section of the completed pad shown in Fig. 2.

example, referring first to theform of my invention. illustrated in Figs. 1- tov 9 and 12', I placev each of. the feet of: the wearer of the shoes to: be made upon a; sheet of paper such as the sheet I-, as; illustrated in Fig. 1, and make an outlinev 2. of each ofthe feet of the wearer. I then: produce a modified. outline 3 ofthe feet, which is; widenedi by about 4;" around the heel at 4 in. order toadd stability to the foot in the resulting shoe; Also, at the-.middleof the foot I producenarrower inwardly curved portions 5 and 6 0i. the outlinesoas to narrow the outline opposite the instep to prevent thev body of. powder; hereinafter referred to, becoming built up too high and so as to; likewise, control theflow of the powder within the supporting part. of the shoe. L then form a supporting pad "I for each of the feet, as shown in" Fig. 2, the same being preferably produced in inverted position. For this pad. I, there is provided a layer of elastic vulcanized rubber 8 cut out accordin to the out:- line 3 and: beneath the rubber layer 8: I place: a layer of cotton. duck 9 having the same outline but provided allv around the same with an excess margin I 0, about. 1" in width, extending beyond an edge H of the rubber layer 8. This edger II is then first Wet with rubber cement. The marginal portion H] of the. duck' layer 9 is then folded up around the edge H toadhere to the same. 'Ihisprocedure'prevents any of the adhesive entering bet-ween the layers 8 and 9.- and thus avoids these layerssticking' together. This sticking together is to. be prevented as the body of powder, hereinafter referred to; is to be received between the layers 8 and; 9.. Furthermore, this procedure prevents any'lack of evenness of the duck around the margin |l-. Thereafter, the upwardly directed. margin lflis. provided with V-shaped cutouts l2 all: around the margin In so that when folded over, in Fig. 3; these portions of themargin IO' will abut but not overlap. Then the in,-

her face of these portionsis coated with rubber cement so that the margin H) may be folded down against: the rubber layer 8, so as to adhere to the same. A slit I31is-then made through-the-rubber layer- 8 and a dry, permanently non-setting, fiowablepowder of any desired character, such as described in my copending application upon Foot support, Ser; No. 412,936, filed September-30; 1941 but preferabl'y'balsa wood flour, is packed tight between the layers 8 and 9. Inorder to obtain, a. set but flexible-foot support, I may substitut'e for the balsa wood flour at, the beginning; of the shoe or after the completion of the entire shoe hereinafter described, a mud made of a y desired proportions of balsa Wood flour and the thick latex, hereinafter referred to. Whenthe mud is introduced and before. it has set the foot 'directions longitudinally into the pocket impression is made therein, as referred to hereinafter. If it is introduced therein at the beginning of the shoe the shoe is completed after the foot impression has been made and before or after the said, mud has set. However, theprocedure using the balsa wood flour alone is preferable. This is done by stuffing the powder in both I4 formed between the layers 8 and 9, the stufling operation being, of course, carried out after the cement is dry on the margin ID. By placing the slit I3 over the ball of the foot away from the heel portion of the pad I, a more effective stufling of the heel portion, which sustains the main weight of the body, is obtained. The slit I3 is then covered over and sealed with a strip of fabric [5, such as duck, etc., having rubber ce" ment applied to the face thereof to cause it to adhere to the rubber layer 8. I then cover over thick latex hereinafter referred to. The thick,

latex is the ordinary latex containing approximately theusual 60% of the rubber body and 40% of water. After this is dried I apply over the layer of. latex a layer of rubber cement. The layer of duck I5 is then caused to adhere securely to the rubber 8 by applying weights to the pad in any desired manner. The pad 1 will now be, as a result of the above, tightly packed with the balsa wood powder so that in cross-section throughout the pad the latter will be bowed upwardly and downwardly, the thickest part of the pad being preferably about 1" thick, whereas the margin of the pad all around the same comes down to a rather sharp edge; The pad may then be beaten with a heavy mallet to more tightly pack the powder in the pad. This pad I, tightly filled with a fiowable powder, is ready to take the conformation of the dynamic shape of the undersurface of the foot.

The next step in the making of the shoe is for the person, for whom the shoes are to be made, to wear these pads beneath the feet for an interval of time, for example from one half an hour to five days, but preferably the latter, so that i the pad I will receive and substantially retain the dynamic contours of the undersurfaoe of the foot in action such as the feet naturally take in the course of walking or other locomotion by the feet. For this purpose the two, right and left, pads! are placed in socks with the duck layer 9 uppermost, so that the wearer causes the pads to conform to the dynamic shapes of the feet in action, as above referred to, by walking thereon, etc. Instead of using socks for this purpose, however, the wearer can attach the pads to his feet with adhesive tape, in any desired way.

The upper surfaces of the pads having thus been made to conform to the undersurfaces of the feet in action, it will be found that the formed surfaces of the pads will have acquired, likewise, the angles of the feet to the'horizontal positions of the pads, according to the'characteristics of the particular person, so that the pads have, in effect, different wedge shapes transversely at different portions of the pad. Accordingly, the pads are now ready to be made into shoes for the wearer, based on these dynamic contours and angles which have been takenby the pads. This tendency to produce the wedge-like positions referred to is demonstrated in ordinary shoes, by the tendency of the foot ordinarily to wear down more at one side of the heel or at one side of the sole than another. This effect in the shoes produced in accordance with my invention, gives an extremely even distribution of pressures beneath the feet and also causes the uppers, applied as hereinafter referred to, to take a more correct position. Accordingly, the pads are now placed beneath the feet of the wearer and a new marginal line is drawn on the top of each of the pads around the same with the pencil being directed inwardly at an angle of approximately 45 beneath the foot of the wearer while his feet rest on the pads. I then make an edge liner ll, pref erably of leather, whioh. has the shape as shown in Fig. 7, intended to be positioned entirely around the upper margin of the shoe so that the two ends of the edge liner abut in the front portion of the shoe. This edge liner ll preferably has a wide upper margin extending-above the intended top of the shoe, which upper margin is later to be cut away in the completed shoe. This edge liner, which is preferably of thin leather, is cemented to the foot of the wearer with rubber cement, with th hair side of the leather placed innermost against the foot. I next fasten to the edge liner I! a cord itlwhich is applied thereto with rubber cement. The upper side of this cord [8 defines the position of the upper edge of the completed shoe. The entire outside of the edge liner l1 and cord l8 are then wet with the thin or thick latex, above referred to. I next place over the feet of the wearer a pair of socks 19 or any other covering, which is equivalent thereto, made of any desired material, knit or woven, such as cotton, silk, wool, rayon, etc., and by choosing a tight or loose sock I-can in this way control the tightness or looseness of the resultant shoes. The pads l are then wet within the outlines which have been drawn thereon, as above, with a thick latex and the feet are then pressed down onto the pads by standing thereon so that the socks l9 adhere firmly to the pads. At the same time the socks will be pressed ine wardly to adhere tightly to the edge liner [1 and the cords 58. If an outer covering is to be applied, which, however, is not essential, I next draw on opposite sides of each of the socks vertical lines 20 and 2|, said lines being provided to indicate the adjacent lines of the edges of leather heel piece 22 and leather front piece 23 to form the outsides or uppers of the shoes. The heel pieces 22 are cut out of flat sheets of soft leather so that their edges will extend to the lines 20 and 2| and extend above the cords IS. The socks are then made wet with the thick latex opposite to the positions of the heel pieces 22 and the heel pieces are wet first on the inside with the thin latex and then, while still wet, with the thick latex, and the heel pieces are then applied in position over the heel portions of the socks. The leather heel pieces 22 are then caused to take the conformation of the foot and the marginal recess between the foot and the outside of the pad by working the leather into the surface with the aid of a Wet cloth and saddle soap. A blunt tool can be used to work the leather in the recesses, and particularly around the cord i8. Front pieces of leather 23 are then cut out of a flat piece of soft leather, and applied in the same way, so as to fit over the front of the shoe and to abut against the heel pieces '22 atlower positions 24, 25, but provide overlap ping flaps 26, 21 on the opposite sides of the shoe above the lower positions Hand 25.. Also;. at the front of the front pieces 23, as .shownin Fig. 9-, opposite tothe big toe, I cut outa V -shaped portion 28 of the leather so that theadziacent lower edges 29' and 3f! will abut against each other, and above the pads l the adjacent edges 29- and 30 are bound together by a binding of a leather thong 31, ashort piece of cord 32- being stuck vertically with rubber cement to the sock [9 between the said adjacent edges 28, 30. It will be noted that the lower margins of the heel pieces 22 and the front pieces 23 extend downwardly so as to cover the marginal edge of the duck layer It, but in order to obtain a better bonding at the lower edgeof the leather 22- and 23' I preferably apply over the duck layer IS" a layer 33 of elastic vulcanized rubber, as shown in Fig. 4, by coating the adjacent surfaces of the layers It and 33 first with the thin latex and thenwith the thick latex. In this instance, the lower margin of the leather around the shoe will extend to and over an edge 34 of the rubber layer33, said edge 34 having previously received a layer of rubber cement. This insures the retention of the lower edge of the leather in position so that it will not become thereafter separated from the shoe in use. Thereupon, I complete the sewing f the shoe by sewing around the upper marginal edge, above the cord l8, also along the flaps 25, 21, and by sewing in place a strap 35 and a buckle 35 on the front pieces 23. It will be noted that these straps 35 and buckles 36 are arranged to bridge over V-shaped recesses 31' in the shoes left between the ends of the edge liner II, it being understood, of course, that the cord l8 extends around the V-shaped recess 31 and that the front pieces 23 are cut out at any stage in the manufacture to conform to said recesses 3'5. The sock and shoe having been removed from the foot, the edges thereof are now trimmed off all around the shoe, both at the top above the cord is and bottom wherever necessary, and a rubber sole 33 is then applied over the lowermost layer or 33, causing the same to adhere tightly in place by applying rubber cement. The rubber sole 33 is preferably comprised of a portion of an inner tube of an automobile tire, which is desirable because of the curvature longitudinally and transversely thereof and which readily fits onto the shoe, although any other rubber layer could be used for this purpose if desired. All the rubber layers used in the shoe are preferably from 1% to /8" thick. Thereafter, I bore all around the shoe, preferably between the pads and the uppers of the shoe, a series of holes 39 which pass entirely through the wall of the shoe to the outer air to provide ample ventilation. A motor-driven rotary brush can now be used to clean out any excess latex from the interior of the shoe.

Fig. 10 illustrates a modified form of procedure in accordance with my invention. In this modified form of my process, the procedure is the same as described in detail in connection with the preceding figures except in the following respects: In this instance a sock is not used in the making of the shoe, but, instead of the sock, at the same stage of the manufacture in which the sock was used I apply to the foot a lower layer of monks cloth 4!, the upper margin of which follows around the foot along the undercut line thereof, the upper inner margin of this layer of monks cloth 4! being made wet with the thick latex so that it will adhere around the margin to the foot. At the front of the piece of monks cloth. H: three; longitudinal puckers 4.2,. above the big t0e,the. middle toe and the little toe, are made in order to. draw the fabric tightly over th-erfootandtheseraisedpuckers are then clipped oft with a of scissors. Av second or upper layer-of monks cloth43. isthen cut out so as to fit over the top of the foot and extend down both sides of the same to a point beneath the undercut line ofthe foot, and preferably down to the outeredge of the pad I, the only: joint being the abutting edges of this piece of monks cloth 53 at the rear of the heel. It will be noted also that the upper edge ofthe monks cloth 43 terminates just belowthe cord I 8. This monks cloth 43, wherever it overlies the lower piece of monks cloth 4H and the pad 1?, is provided on the inner surface thereof with the thick latex sothat when placed over thefoot-the overlapping edges of the two pieces of monks cloth Ill and 43 will become cemented together, and in this cementing operation the portion of the monks cloth 4-! overlaid by the 'monks cloth 4'3- ma likewise have rubber cement applied to it toincrease the bond between the same. Likewise, the monks cloth 43 is bonded by cement in a similar manher to the edgeliner I l and to the pad I wherever the monks cloth contacts with the same. Therefore, due to the'locationof'theupper edge of the monks cloth 43 beneaththe cord it, the upper edgeof'the shoe-will'be comprised merely of the edge liner l-T sewed= to-the leather back piece 22 in this-instance.

Referring to- Fig. 1-13 I have shown a modified form of shoewhich ma be constructed exactly like either of the two forms of shoes shown in Figs; 1" 1309, I2 and lfl but without the overlapping leather pieces 22 and 2-3. Instead, in this instance-the outer portion of theupper is provided by applying onto the sock H3 or monks cloth ii, 43-, a flexible plasticorliduid material. For example, I-maystipple onto the outside of the sock or monks clotha batter made of latex and wood flour, and when this has dried Imay spray onto the same a rubber cement, te-which I may apply, whilethe cement is wet, a metal powder, such for exampleas of aluminum, bronze, copper, etc;, of which there-is a great choice of colors, as desired. In this instance, also, there is no front cord 32, nor any binding 3!, nor-is there anystit-ching; A shoe 44-" thus made, as shown in Fig. 1 1', may have a crescent shaped cut-out 45 near the front of the shoe and another similarly shaped cut-out 46 at the rear thereof, so as to provide a free end 41 for the attachment of a strap 48, by sewing, which strap is arranged to pass through a buckle 49 attached to the side of the shoe by sewing or otherwise. The lightnes sand flexibility of this particular form of the shoe make the openings 45 and 46 desirable.

In wearing these shoes, it will be understood that the mobile powder, such as balsa wood flour, carried in the pocket I4 of the body of the shoe has not only been pre-formed to giveit the same shape as the dynamic contours of the foot in action, but that the contours in the pad can readily change either quickl or slowly to conform to the position of the foot in action and under the different circumstances of use. Furthermore, owing to the fact that the heel of the pad is slightly wider than the heel of the foot, greater stability for the heel is attained. It is found, accordingly, that the shoes made in this way not only provide extraordinary comfort but conduce to the maintenance and restoration of the feet to the normal natural positions which they assume in action, thus increasing the feeling of well being of the wearer to a marked degree. These effects are, furthermore, attained by means of a shoe which may be produced. with a very much smaller amount of the rubber than I have found necessary previously in making shoes.

While I have described my invention above in detail I wish it to be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the same.

I claim: 7

1. The process which comprises applying to the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of a fiowable, dry, permanently non-setting, finely divided material, making an impression of the foot in the pad under the entire foot and thereafter building the shoe around the impressed pad while on the foot by securing an edge liner to the foot, securing a fabric which fits the foot to the edge liner and securing the fabric to the pad.

2. The process which comprises applying to the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of a flowable, dry, permanently non-setting, finely divided material, making an impression of the foot in the pad under the entire foot and thereafterbuilding the shoe around the impressed pad while on the foot by securing an edge liner to the foot, securing a sock which fits the foot to the edge liner, securing the sock to the pad and applying an outer covering to the sock.

3. The process which comprises applying to the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of a fiowable, dry, permanently non-setting, finely divided material, making an impression of the foot in the pad under the entire foot and thereafter building the shoe around the impressed pad while on the foot by securing an edge liner to the foot, securing a sock which fits the foot to the edge liner, securing the sock to the pad and applying an outer covering to the sock, said covering being in the form of a heel piece and a front piece joined together along vertical lines.

4. The process which comprises applying to the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of a flowable, finely divided material, making an the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of a flowable, finely divided material, making an impression of the foot in the pad under the entire foot and thereafter building the shoe around the impressed pad while on the foot by securing an edge liner to the foot, securing a sock which fits the foot to the edge liner, securing the sock to'the pad and applying an outer covering to the sock.

6. The process which comprises applying to the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of a flowable, finely divided material, making an impression of the foot in the pad under the'entire foot and thereafter building the shoe around the impressed pad while on the foot by securing an edge liner to the foot, securing a sock which fits the foot to the edge liner, securing the sock to the pad and applying an outer covering to the sock, said covering being in the form of a heel piece and a front piece joined together along vertical lines.

7. The process which comprises applying to the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of a fiowable, finely divided setting material, making an impression of the foot in the pad under the entire foot and thereafter building the shoe around the impressed pad while on the foot by securing an edge liner to the foot, securing a fabric which fits the foot to the edge liner and securing the fabric to the pad.

8. The process which comprises applying to the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of a fiowable, finely divided setting material, making an impression of the foot in the pad under the entire foot and thereafter building the shoe around the impressed pad while on the foot by securing an edge liner to the foot,

securing a sock which fits the foot to the edge liner, securing the sock to the pad and applying an outer covering to the sock.

9. The process which comprises applying to the foot an impressionable pad filled with a body of 'a fiowable, finely divided setting material, making an impression of the foot in the pad under the entire foot and thereafter building the shoe around the impressed pad while on the foot by securing an edge liner to the foot, securing a' sock which fits the foot to the edge liner, securing the sock to the pad and applying an outer covering to the sock, said covering being in the form of a heel piece and a front piece joined together along vertical lines.

' ALAN E. MURRAY. 

